


Dark Alleys

by Aluce02



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Angst, Assassin Lance, Drinking, Flirting, Gangs, Kidnapping, Korean Keith (Voltron), Lots of Cursing, M/M, Mexican-American Lance, Minor Violence, Modern Assassins, Poor Keith, Sorry Not Sorry, Team Voltron Family, gang member! Lance, jk yes I am, klance, poor boy just wanted to get home
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-02
Packaged: 2018-08-10 16:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 10,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7852156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aluce02/pseuds/Aluce02
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>First klance fic sorry if this is kinda trash lol. </p><p>Anyway hope you like the story!<3</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. ~Chapter One~

**Author's Note:**

> First klance fic sorry if this is kinda trash lol. 
> 
> Anyway hope you like the story!<3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I got around to editing this sooner than I thought lmao

Keith walked down the road in silence, his headphones blocking the noise of the streets around him. He had his hands stuffed into his sweatshirt pockets, fingering the waded up bills he had earned during his shift at the diner. He was exactly a ‘people person’ so he never got as many tips as Hunk, but he lived by himself and it was always enough to get him by.

He admired the patterns the snow made in the air and didn't pay much attention to his surroundings as he took his usual turn into the alley he always walked through on his way home. Keith had walked this way too and from work so many times, he could have done it in his sleep. It helped that he had never been all too scared of things like dark alleys.

That night though, he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, like he was being watched. From the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a flash of black and blue but decided it was all in his imagination, beginning to walk faster. Just in case. It wasn’t that he was afraid of what could be in the dark. He was afraid of the trouble it could get him into.

He turned his music up louder and tried to calm his nerves, reminding himself that this was a pretty safe neighborhood and the chances of someone trying to mug or murder him were low. The thing he wanted most was to be home, curled up in his warm bed as he watched tv, away from any sticky situations he might get himself stuck in while out at night.

When he saw the streak of black and blue again he began to run, not caring if it was his imagination or not. Suddenly, there was a tug at his coat hood and he was jerked backward, his headphones flying off and landing in the snow. He tried to turn and fight but before he could get his hands on his assailant there was a blade at his throat and a hand gripping the hair at the back of his head. Keith swallowed as he heard a little chuckle.

“Thought you could run?” asked a light voice at his ear. It was the voice of someone far too comfortable with holding a knife so close to someone’s jugular. “I’ve been searching too long to let you get away. You see, Keith, I know what you’ve seen. And that means I need you taken care of. If you catch my drift.” the voice told him. It was a nice voice. Not the kind of thing you’d expect to hear when you were about to be killed. More like the kind of voice that would remind you to buckle your seatbelt on an airplane, kind but practiced.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked, completely confused as to how the guy knew his name.

“Don’t play dumb.” the voice was immediately annoyed, “You’ve seen things you shouldn’t have, and now you have to leave.”

“Take the knife away from my throat and I’d be happy to.” Keith offered. The guy laughed as if he thought Keith was making a joke. In reality, Keith just really wanted to go home. He’d done this for too long and it had grown old. He was tired of fighting.

“I like you. Sure will be a shame when I slit your throat.” Keith shut his eyes as if trying not to imagine what that scene would be like. The guy tugged on his hair and Keith winced, feeling a warm body against his back. Solid and warm, not the way you would expect a cold blooded killer to feel.

“I really don’t know what you’re talking about. Please just let me go home. If you saw me seeing whatever it is you think I saw and I had headphones on then I didn’t see anything.” Keith promised. He thought, perhaps if he confused the guy he’d buy himself some time to think of a way out.

The guy was silent for a second before he said, “What? No, nevermind it doesn’t matter. I have orders to get rid of you and that’s what I have to do.”

“Please just let me go home. I haven’t seen anything. I swear. I don’t know what it is you think I saw but judging by our current situation I’d guess it’s nothing good.” Keith said as he slowly reached up towards the knife.

“If I don’t kill you quickly now, someone else will do it much slower in the future. Trust me, I’m doing both of us a huge favor here.” the guy told him.

Keith plucked up what courage he could and grabbed the hand at his neck, tugging the knife from his throat and pulling away. The guy lost his grip on his hair and cursed. Keith began to sprint but hadn’t made it very far before he heard the scrape of something being picked up off the concrete and then a stinging pain in the back of his head. He fell forward, skull hitting the concrete with a sickening crunch. The guy walked over and squatted down beside him.

“You should have just let me slit your throat. So much faster for both me and you.” he said with a sigh. The last thing Keith saw before he lost consciousness was a pair of bright blue eyes and choppy brown hair sticking out from under a black baseball cap. Then he was gone, unconscious as he laid in the middle of the dark alley. Part of Keith knew he would bleed out before someone found him. The other part wasn’t all too worried about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed<3


	2. ~Chapter Two~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Added more detail, hopefully things make more sense now lol
> 
> It's still not great yet but it's better than before.

_ Lance's POV: _

“I thought I told you to kill that kid!” Mr. Amos spoke angrily.

“I thought he had died when I hit him with the brick. I swear to you, I watched the light leave his eyes.” Lance made an excuse but it was clear Mr. Amos wasn’t having any of it. Calvin Amos had been alive too long for eighteen-year-old Lance to fool him, especially with such a trivial lie as the one he had just told.

“If he was dead he wouldn't be walking around downtown! Try to live up to your sister, McClain. Don’t be so soft. One more slip up like this and someone else will be taking your place. Now get out.” 

Lance nodded along to everything and quickly made his way out of the room as soon as he was allowed to. He padded down the creaking old stairs and through the hall to the dirty living room. Pidge was leaned against the wall and waiting for him anxiously, her head tipped back as she tapped her foot. Lance saw her eyes were closed and he took the opportunity.

He tiptoed over and bent down, yelling, “Pidge!” in her ear. He backed away as she jumped, looking around startled. “This is why you’re a hacker and not an assassin.” Lance chuckled as she glared at him.

“I'm not the one who talked for too long to actually kill someone.” Pidge shot back as she and Lance left the living room. They were dressed normally, Pidge in her sweatpants and jacket and Lance in his jumper and jeans. He pulled on his black baseball cap as they walked out the front door.

“Lance, what's on your sweater?” Pidge asked. He glanced down at his jumper. It was black with a gingerbread man. The gingerbread’s head was snapped off and a text bubble above it said, “Oh Snap!”

“A gingerbread man.” Lance answered.

“That definitely looks like something a hardened assassin like you would wear.” Pidge said and laughed when Lance huffed and crossed his arms over the jumper. 

They walked down the deserted streets full of dilapidated building crack houses until they reached the  _ much _ nicer end of town. They had been sent out to keep an eye on Keith, make sure he didn’t try to contact anyone about his encounter with Lance two nights before.

Pidge though, as glad to be out of the house as ever, had brought some cash with her. Her excuse was, “Why leave the house and not buy anything when you can leave the house and buy everything?”. Lance had never understood the way his little friend thought.

“Do you think he’ll recognize you if he sees you?” Pidge asked. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and began to type away as she spoke. “Like, if he hears your voice is he going to be all like “Oh shit, that’s the guy that tried to kill me” or do you think he won’t be able to tell?”

“I don’t know Pidge, I’m not a damn mind reader.” Lance told her. "I know the guy's good at what he does, but he's two days off a serious head injury. I'd be surprised if he could even remember how he go it."

“I thought reading people was one of your ‘many’ skills.” She had him there.

Lance grumbled in annoyance as he watched her work, “What are you doing?” He asked after a block and half.

“Pulling money from random accounts.” This was how Pidge could afford to ‘leave the house and buy everything’. Lance laughed as he saw a notice for three hundred dollars being transferred.

“You better stop, someone’s bound to notice eventually.” Lance warned her. Pidge only pushed her glasses further up her nose and continued stealing money. She finally put the phone away when they turned onto the main street of downtown where all the shops and restaurants sat. 

They easily located Keith. He was eating in a diner, a bigger guy in yellow sitting across from him. Their coats hung from the backs of their chairs and as they slipped by Pidge carefully dropped something into the pocket of Keith’s coat. Just in case they lost him. She and Lance then sat down at a table in the way back of the diner.

“Damn it’s good to be out of that stupid house. You’re lucky, you know? You get to leave all the time.” She pouted as a waitress made her way over.

“Yeah, lucky Lance, he gets to leave and be a disappointment all day.” Pidge laughed loudly which made Lance laugh as well. They had been told to draw no attention to themselves but he could feel Keith and his friend glance over at them.  The waitress smiled and took their orders before turning and leaving again. 

One thing that made Lance not as good at being an assassin as others was how loud he was. He couldn’t help it though, it was just how he was naturally.  “Pidge that’s awful!” he cried but laughed as she explained how she had duped some man into emailing her his social security number and bank information. She gave him a look that seemed to say ‘At least I don’t kill people for a living’.

“I’ll share the money with you.” she said in a low voice and Lance stopped laughing immediately.

“Deal.” he said and they both laughed again. Lance could never help being loud when he was around Pidge. Ever since her brother had been killed in a drug bust, he’d taken over the role of older brother, and it was a job he took even more serious than his work with the gang.

A short while later the waitress came back out with their food and they ate quickly, getting up and leaving moments after Keith and his friend. They hung back several yards and kept an eye on the boy, speaking casually to keep up the facade of being regular shoppers. They hung out outside the shop Keith went into and didn’t continue walking till he left. Whenever Keith turned around looking suspicious, Lance and Pidge did what they did best. They disappeared. They blended in with the people around them and completely vanished from Keith’s sight.

Lance’s acute hearing picked up on Keith’s friend’s worried questions. He asked if Keith was okay, why he kept turning. Lance could hear Keith brushing it off and telling him it was nothing. it was obvious that he wasn’t sure if Lance was who he thought he might be. 

The next shop they went into, Lance and Pidge followed them in. It was a small little clothing store and Pidge had insisted. She spent a good ninety percent of her time inside hacking and stealing and keeping a close eye on the other gang members so when she got outside, Pidge did what she liked, buying whatever she wanted with money other people had earned.

“Pidge you don’t even like clothes like this.” Lance said looking at the shelves around them.

“I can change up my look Lance, it’s not illegal.” Pidge defended herself as she looked at the racks of clothing and pulled things down. He glanced at her sweatpants and jacket and gave her a skeptical look. “Shut it.” she warned.

At one point, he and Pidge brushed past Keith as they went to pay. Keith did his best not to touch either of their shoulders and Lance chuckled lowly, Pidge whacking his arm as she sat everything down on the counter. When they left, they sat on a bench outside the store, Lance buying Pidge and himself ice cream from a nearby vendor as they waited for Keith and his friend to leave.

Pidge sat happily eating her pistachio cone as Lance looked at the things she had bought. Pidge’s style had never been all that feminine, mainly just t-shirts and shorts. It thoroughly confused him to find skirts and a dress in the bag. He just chalked it up to her growing up, becoming less of a potato that sat inside its room all day.

Pidge was still at least a little potato though because when Keith and his friend left the store she asked Lance to carry her. He sighed and let her jump on his back. Bags hung from her arms as she clasped her hands in front of him. Lance held onto her arm with one hand and used the other to finish his ice cream cone.

“You’re a good friend Lance. Even if you do kill people for a living.” Pidge mumbled jokingly and Lance laughed. He saw Keith stiffen ahead of them but he continued to walk. He didn’t turn around or stop walking, but deep in his gut lance knew Keith had heard her.

He crossed the street with Pidge and watched Keith from afar. They followed as he took his friend home and as he went back to his own home. They ducked behind a car as Keith stood at his front door, looking around a moment before heading inside.

Then Lance carried Pidge back to the house where they snuck inside and tried to not be noticed. Quietly, they made their way upstairs and past the rooms of other gang members. They only parted when Pidge went into her room and Lance went further down the hall to his.

* * *

_ Keith’s POV: _

The entire day, Keith felt terrible. It started at lunch, he and Hunk eating in the diner they both worked at. It was Hunk’s day off and he’d insisted on spending it hanging out with Keith, who was given two weeks leave to let the stitches in the back of his head heal.

They’d just sat down when a girl and some guy came into the diner and took a booth at the very back. The girl was wearing a plain green jacket and grey sweatpants, the guy jeans and a sweater. Nothing was out of the ordinary per se. He wore a black baseball cap and had startling blue eyes that Keith could swear he had seen somewhere before. It was clear they weren’t related, not by blood anyway, as the girl was nearly as pale as the white tile floors, but the guy’s skin was a light bronze color. 

Keith tried to convince himself the bad feeling was from the stitches in his scalp.

The guy said something and his friend laughed which seemed to make him laugh. It was a scarily familiar laugh but Keith couldn’t place where it was from. A couple minutes later, the guy exclaimed, “Pidge that’s awful!” with another laugh and Keith realized where he had heard it. It was the same voice as the guy that had held the knife to his throat two nights before. But it was slightly different, louder and less practiced.

He decided to ignore it, giving the benefit of the doubt and pretending he didn’t know. If he confronted him or told Hunk, he’d only be stoking flames he’d rather put out. His suspicion grew though as they left the same time he and Hunk did.

“Are you okay? Why do you keep turning around?” Hunk asked the third time Keith glanced over his shoulder behind them. Each time he turned they were gone but he could feel the two of them watching him.

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” Keith reassured him as he turned back. He tried to brush it off as they went into a store but he felt his heart speed up as he glanced out the window and saw a black baseball cap in the crowd of people. It disappeared when they left the store but walked closer now and Keith could hear them conversing quietly. He couldn’t make out their words. 

The pair followed him and Hunk into the next store and this time he could hear their voices clearer, could hear them poking fun and teasing each other. He learned the girl’s name was Pidge, and the boy was Lance.

They walked past him and he panicked slightly, trying to not come into contact with either. He heard the same chuckle as he had that night with the guy standing behind him, blade at his neck and hand holding his hair. Pidge smacked his arm as they began to check out.

Keith glanced out the window again worriedly as they shopped. He saw Pidge sitting on the bench outside as Lance walked over and handed her an ice cream cone. He sat down beside her and began to look through her bags, talking to her as they sat. Keith wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think.

He stayed with Hunk for another fifteen minutes before Hunk decided to not get anything and they left. Looking in the mirror that sat in the window of a beauty parlor Keith watched Pidge jump onto Lance’s back as she slung her bags on her arms. Lance held her wrist and ate the rest of his ice cream as they walked.

Keith was starting to calm down when he heard, “You’re a good friend Lance. Even if you do kill people for a living.” He stiffened in fear but forced himself to keep walking. He couldn’t let them catch up with him. He wasn’t sure if it had been a joke or not, it had sure sounded like one, but he didn’t want to take the chance that it wasn’t.

“Hey Keith, you sure you’re okay?” Hunk asked.

“Yeah, why?” Keith looked up at his friend as they walked.

“You seem really stressed. You sure you don’t want to just go home?” Keith sighed in defeat.

“Yeah I’m a little tense but we don’t have to go home. Not yet.” he reassured Hunk.

“No, it’s okay. Let’s just head home. You should probably be like resting and stuff anyway.” Hunk insisted. Keith didn’t argue after that, just walked and talked with his friend before he was alone again, Hunk’s house closer to town than his.

Keith could still feel the eyes on him but every time he turned around no one was there. Just an empty street full of tiny houses, cars parked in drives and along the road. He was tempted to call out but decided that wouldn’t do him much good. He quickly made his way home. When he stood on his porch he surveyed the street looking for his stalkers. Walking inside, he couldn't help but think about them, still confused.

The Pidge girl seemed too small to be a killer, though Keith knew you couldn’t always judge someone on their size. Lance seemed too nice though, too caring. He’d been laughing and joking and teasing and carrying her around, buying her ice cream and letting her rest her head on his shoulder as they walked. 

Keith didn’t think there was any way either of them could kill someone. But then, if she wasn’t talking about Lance killing people why had she called him a good friend even if he did ‘kill people for a living’? Keith tried not to think about it as he popped a couple ibuprofen and decided to go to bed. It was only five in the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't tell how well I wrote Pidge. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you like the story so far!<3


	3. ~Chapter Three~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow two chapters in one day, look at me go

_ Keith’s POV: _

Keith had just finished re-bandaging his stitches when somebody knocked on his door. His left cheekbone was covered by a large bruise and there was a small cut on his forehead, both from where his face had connected with the concrete. Apparently, he had been lucky he hadn’t broken his nose. It wouldn’t have been the first time. 

He walked slowly down the steps scratching his stomach as he entered the hall. He had just woken up and only wore fleece pajama pants but this didn’t bother him. Sure it was cold but he could deal.

“I’m coming, damn!” he yelled as the knocking got both louder and faster. He opened the door and didn’t even have time to blink before he was on his ass in the entryway and the door was slammed shut. He rubbed his head and began to curse at whoever had attacked him but as he looked up he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. It was Lance.

He wore all black, from his baseball cap down to his expensive looking sneakers. His blue eyes were wide as he stared down the gun at Keith. “Hope you don’t mind me coming in, I didn’t think your neighbors wanted to watch.” He spoke with his finger hovering over the trigger. Keith shook his head slowly and tried to ignore the gun in his face.

“Why are you trying to kill me this time?” Keith asked.

“Once again Keith, old buddy, you’ve managed to see things you shouldn’t.”

Keith sighed. He’d rather this guy just kill him already. He was tired of gang stuff, he had grown tired of it long ago. “What this time?” he asked.

“I know you saw me yesterday. I don’t care about that. Well, I do care because that’s bad but I don’t care about it right now. What I do care about is that you saw Katie.”

“The girl that was working with you? I thought her name was Pidge.” In that moment Keith wanted to grab the gun from Lance’s hand and do the honors himself. He’d just made the biggest mistake probably ever. Lance smiled down at him.

“My point exactly. Gosh, I thought you were supposed to be better at this.” Lance sounded almost disappointed.

Keith shrugged. “I’m out of practice.”

“Anyway. I’ve worked hard to keep Pidge off of any other gang’s radars, to keep her name out of the mouth of anyone I see as a threat. And you’ve just become a threat to her.” Lance explained.

“How so?”

“I know about your connections with the Bowery Boys. Any member of theirs is a mouth I want to keep Pidge’s name out of.”

“I don’t affiliate myself with them anymore.” Keith protested. It had been a long time since he had heard anyone say ‘Bowery Boys’ much less someone talking about his time with them.

“Then you wouldn’t be afraid to go to the police. They love little snitches like you. And you seem like just the guy to get my little Pidge put away. If I kill you Pidge doesn’t go to jail. I do but she doesn’t.” Keith almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had to admit though, his logic was far from flawed. It almost seemed selfless, the boy willing to go away for life just to spare the chance that someone might get his friend in trouble.

“You’d rather get tried for murder than let your friend possibly get arrested?” Keith asked looking at him like he was insane. Then he remembered there was a gun in his face and that Lance was, in fact, insane.

“Pidge doesn’t deserve to go to jail. She’s too smart to waste away in a cell full of people who couldn’t unlock their own computer, much less one on the other side of the world. I don’t have a future, I don’t have anyone who cares about me, I don’t have a full scholarship through MIT waiting for me as soon as I graduate. But Pidge does. Pidge has a chance to make something of herself and I’m not letting you ruin that for her.” Lance’s finger was on the trigger now and Keith looked up, expecting to find regret or concern or anything to show he wasn’t  _ this _ used to killing people. But there was nothing. If anything he looked a little angry but whether it was with himself or Keith, Keith couldn’t tell.

“Don’t you think if I was going to go to the police I would have already?” Keith pointed out. Lance’s finger faltered but stayed where it was.

“I’ve killed plenty of people, seen countless cases where they were too scared but eventually grew the balls after a few weeks. But you’re not going to the police. Not this time.” There was something close to mania in his voice and Keith could see this was the end of the line for him.

“Please, I don’t want you arrested.” Keith said but closed his eyes, expecting to get his brain blown out at any second.

Lance was silent before he asked, “Are you actually that dumb? I’ve come to kill you twice now and you’re not going to go to the police?” He sounded dumbfounded, like he couldn’t believe anyone would actually be that stupid.

“You’re just doing what you’re told. When I was younger I didn’t have anyone either. As you apparently already know, I got mixed up in gangs and I know how scary it is to not be able to leave. You’re just protecting yourself and your friend. You can’t do anything but follow orders. I’m assuming you’re part of the El Rukn?” Lance just nodded, still staring at him in disbelief. “Those guys are brutal, merciless. I’m surprised they didn’t kill you the first time you failed to kill me.”

Lance’s finger rested carefully on the trigger. All was quiet in the house until a knock came at the door. “Keith!” Hunk called, “Keith are you okay? I wanted to see if you were doing better this morning.” Keith silently thanked his friend as Lance swore.

“You got lucky.” he hissed, “I’ll be back. I’m not letting Pidge get arrested. Or killed.” And with that, he flew up the stairs. Keith followed behind as quickly as he could. By the time he reached the top of the steps though the window at the end of the hall was open and he only caught a glimpse of blue and black before Lance was gone. Downstairs Hunk continued to bang on the door.

“Keith are you awake?” he called. Keith ran back down the steps and swung the door open.

“Yes and now half the street is too.” Keith said and Hunk turned pink.

“Sorry I just wanted to check on you.” Hunk apologized.

“Nah it’s fine. I’m fine. Everything’s fine.” Keith mentally facepalmed at how  _ not fine  _ he sounded. Hunk gave him a skeptical look but nodded anyway. He walked in and yawned.

“Got any coffee? Let’s talk.” he said. Keith sighed knowing what that meant. He lead Hunk down the hall and into the kitchen where he made himself and his friend coffee and they sat across the table from each other. “So. What’s up?” Hunk asked.

“We’re not doing this Hunk. Not today.” Keith said.

“Doing what?” Hunk asked while doing his best to look innocent.

“The thing you do where you act all sweet and caring until I tell you what's wrong.” Hunk looked like he had been betrayed as Keith sipped his scorching black coffee.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay. You don’t have to tell me anything.” Hunk said. Keith rolled his eyes. “But if you want to you can. Tell me what’s wrong that is. But only if you want to.”

“I already told you. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me Hunk.” Keith gave his friend a look that seemed to say ‘drop it’ and Hunk was quiet. For a moment anyway.

The entire morning Hunk was not-so-subtly egging him on, urging Keith to tell him. Finally, Keith gave in and yelled, “If it will make you shut up about it, I will tell you!” Hunk looked proud. They sat down in Keith’s living room and Hunk waited for Keith to gather his thoughts. “You know how I slipped the other day, and that’s how I got the stitches in the back of my head?” Hunk nodded. “That’s not entirely the truth.” Keith then launched into a full retelling of everything that had happened, from the moment he stepped foot in that dark alley all the way until right before Hunk had knocked.

“So he was killing you… to protect his friend who also kills other people?” Hunk asked slowly.

“That’s what I thought at first but he mentioned something about her getting into faraway computer systems so I think she’s more of a hacker than a killer.” Keith told him.

Hunk nodded looking thoughtful before he yelled, “Are you fucking crazy?!” Keith jumped in surprise as Hunk stared at him. “Some stranger tries to kill you twice in a span of three days and you don’t want to call the police on him?!”

“You know about my past. You’re the  _ only  _ person who knows about my past. I’ve been in his shoes before. I don’t expect you to fully understand because you’ve never been there, but you have to do what you have to do to survive and protect the ones you care about.” Keith spoke nonchalantly and Hunk closed his eyes in disbelief.

“You’re right, I don’t understand. I will probably never understand you or any part of…  _ that _ . But I’m calling the police.” Hunk grabbed for the home phone but Keith held his arm.

“Hunk, please don’t. I’m still alive right? So why bother calling the police?”

“Because he’s trying to kill you?”

“I’ll cut you a deal. You can call the police once I’m dead. Deal? Deal.”

“No. No deal!” Hunk exclaimed

“Come on Hunk. Do it for me.”

“I  _ am  _ doing this for you. I’m doing this so you  _ don't die _ !”

Keith sighed and glared at his friend. “Call the police and Lance will be arrested. But when he is, more will come. Obviously, they want me dead for something I did while I was with the Bowery Boys. If one fails to get rid of me more will come.”

“How true you are.” came a voice from the doorway behind them. Both Keith and Hunk jumped, spinning around to find a small girl in the doorway. It was Pidge.

“How did you get in here?” Keith asked staring at her in bewilderment.

“That’s not important. I’m here because I have a warning for you.” she sat down in an armchair as casually as if she lived there. Keith gave her a confused look and Hunk was still in shock.

“You can’t call the police on Lance.” she said.

“Oh yeah? Why not?” Hunk asked.

“Once his prints are in the system, he could be linked to more gang killings than either he or I care to admit. I don’t know what it is about you, but he sees something, something that’s making it hard for him to pull the trigger. He’s become immune to the act but not the guilt. And if he’s arrested, there will be no bumper between you and the rest of El Rukn.” Pidge told them.

“I’m still calling the police.” Hunk declared.

“That’s fair,” she answered, “But like your friend said, he’s been in Lance’s shoes. He knows what it’s like to be all alone in a big bad gang, only there because you’ll be killed if you try to leave.” Hunk looked terrified as he heard this. “The thing with sweet little Lance is, he has nothing to live for. I’m the closest thing he has to family now and it makes sense he’d kill you to protect me. If he thinks you’re going to the police, he’ll gun you down in a heartbeat.” Pidge explained.

“Nothing to live for?” Keith asked. He had felt that before and it was something dangerous. 

“Lance, he comes from a big, loving, caring family. Something not many people have. The thing is, when you have people that nice, who you think are going to stand by your side forever, you usually end up disappointed. Lance got that disappointment in the form of being kicked out. He came out to his family and before he could even register their cold words, he was on the front yard with his stuff. That’s how he got caught up in the gang. He was some homeless kid, willing to kill to get food in his mouth. He had never really killed anyone until he got into the gang but they could see he was starving.” Keith processed all this and almost felt bad for the guy.

“The thing with family is though, they always find a way to surprise you. Lance eventually found out his sister was an assassin in the gang at one point in her life, a rough point. It was why they had targeted him specifically. From then on he had to fill the shoes of the greatest assassin this side of the country had ever seen. He’s constantly being told, 'Lance why aren’t you more like your sister?' and 'Lance why don’t you do things as well as your sister?' and 'Lance you’re sister could have done so much better.'” Keith looked at Pidge as she spoke. She seemed to be rather stiff as if expecting Lance to bust in the room at any second. “So not only will he kill you to protect me, he’s got something to prove. He’s stuck in a gang, stuck in his sister’s shadow, stuck with no family. And it’s wrong of him to try and get arrested to protect me. But that’s the type of guy he is. You could screw him over time and time again and he’d still protect you in the end. 

“He kills because he’s engineered to please, whether it be his parents or our boss. No matter what he sees in you, he’ll kill you if he has to. And if he doesn’t get the chance, someone else will come along and do it instead.” 

Keith kinda felt for Lance. He could see how that kind of internal pain could drive someone to do anything and everything to make people happy. He just wanted someone to be proud of him the way his family was when he was younger.

“So we shouldn’t call the police on him because he’s just trying to make murderers proud?” Hunk asked.

“I feel like you didn’t actually listen to me but, yes, if that will keep you from calling the police, then that’s exactly what I said.” Pidge didn’t seem to be taking a liking to Hunk. But at least now he seemed less eager to grab the phone and start a manhunt for the Cuban boy. 

Pidge stood like she was going to leave before she seemed to remember something. “Also, Lance was sent on an out of town job but he’ll be back soon. Don’t tell him what I told you, the last thing I need is a pouting Lance while I’m trying to work.”

She made her way to a window. “By ‘job’ do you mean…” Keith’s words trailed off. Pidge nodded and threw the window open.

“Be nice to him, he’s a fragile little boy.” Pidge said with a smile and a wink before hopping out the window. Keith had yet to see an ounce of fragileness in Lance.

“You’re not calling the police are you?” Keith asked as Hunk stood up.

“No. I’m really confused as to what she was trying to get at but I don’t feel like calling the police anymore.” Keith had to agree. Pidge didn’t seem to be very good with getting her point across. “I’m going home.” Hunk mumbled and Keith called goodbye, hearing the front door open and close again.

A couple minutes later he thought he heard a crash outside the house but when he heard nothing else Keith shrugged and stood. Then he stumbled backward as his front door was kicked in.

“Oh, Keith!” Lance called from the entryway. Keith cautiously made his way to the entryway and found Lance dripping blood onto his hardwood floors. The gun was pointed at his head but before Lance could pull the trigger he collapsed. Keith stood in stunned silence, eyes wide as he stared down at what he hoped wasn’t a dead body. Then he stepped over him, shut the door and rolled Lance over. He couldn’t help but notice he was bleeding from several dozen gashes and stab wounds. Keith was about to dump him in the yard when he remembered what Pidge had said. He was all that was keeping the rest of the gang from him. Not only that, he only did it because he had to.

Keith rolled his eyes and dragged the boy farther into the house and onto the kitchen floor. He used towels and his first aid kit to patch him up, occasionally sighing in displeasure the entire time. Finally, he hauled Lance over his shoulder, carrying him to the living room where he threw him down on the couch. The boy slept as Keith mopped up the blood and dirt that had been tracked from his front door all the way to his kitchen. He used a paper towel to wipe it off his front porch before throwing himself in the armchair Pidge had been in a little less than an hour ago.

As he sat Keith tried to figure out why the hell he had helped the man that had tried to kill him twice and had likely shown up when he had in an attempt to kill Keith again. “I’m too nice.” Keith grumbled and closed his eyes. He thought about a younger Lance, scared as he was approached by gang members.

Keith had been in his exact spot but he hadn’t been an assassin. He merely collected money that was due and did what was needed to get it. So yeah, he could see where Lance and Pidge were both coming from. Besides, if Lance killed him that’d be one person closer to making someone proud. 

Keith was slightly startled by how okay he was with possibly dying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story has absolutely nothing to do with the actual El Rukn or the Bowery Boys, I don't even know that much about them, I just heard the names in an episode of Unsolved Mysteries and decided to use them for the story lmao
> 
> It's sorta hard to follow but oh well 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed nonetheless! Thanks for reading!<3


	4. ~Chapter Four~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo look another update!
> 
> Wow I'm good.
> 
> But I need to chill.

Lance’s POV:

Sliding between buildings was easy. Finding the target was easy. Gunning him down in the middle of the day was less easy. Lance stood in the crowd and watched his target move easily. He was completely unaware of the assassin lurking behind him, weapons tucked carefully in the waistband of his jeans. The target turned down an empty street and Lance saw his chance.

It was an abandoned road full of abandoned buildings and cracked sidewalks. The target seemed to sense Lance’s presence and turned but Lance was already gone, watching from the shadows of the warehouse next to him. When the target turned around again Lance followed. He was about to pull the gun from his waist when he felt cool metal at his hairline. He had known this would happen and perhaps Boss had too. 

The target turned just in time to see one of his three cronies press the gun to Lance’s head. “You know you've lived a long hard life when they begin to send children after you.” the man’s voice was gruff and seemed to fit too well with his angry old man look.

“I’m not a child.” Lance grumbled and reached for his gun. 

The gun dug deeper into his scalp and he winced, still trying to grab his weapon as the man said, “Blow his brains out.” Lance’s gun was forgotten and he stepped to the side, reaching his hand around and grabbing the gun, maneuvering his arm to pull the gun from the man’s hand. He spun and pointed it at the man who looked startled. Lance wasn’t good at much but he had cat like reflexes.

The nasty old man applauded. He jumped and the smirk slid from his face when Lance pulled the trigger. Lance had seen a lot of blood in his life but there was a reason red was his least favorite color. 

The other two men attacked Lance then, stabbing and slicing as Lance threw down the bulletless gun. He grabbed for his own gun but the men were already on top of him. He felt each sting as they cut and pulled and did what they could to kill him. 

In a panic Lance pulled a dagger from his waistband and stabbed the man closest to his hand. He buried it down to the hilt in the man’s chest and he fell to the ground, blood seeping out around the wound. He pulled his gun and fired, clipping the other man in the shoulder. He didn't fall, just cursed and stabbed at Lance again. He fired a second time and the man fell. 

Lance turned and swore in Spanish. He ran after the old man who was surprisingly quick. He fired three times before he finally got him in the back of the head. Lance doubled over and struggled to catch his breath, holding the gashes in his side. He pulled his hand away and grumbled, wiping the blood on his pants. He sat down and covered his wounds with a piece of cloth he tore from the sweatshirt tied around his waist, pulling his phone out and dialing a number quickly. 

“Hey George. Yeah it’s Lance. I need a ride. No not there, i’m not done for the day. I need you to take me to a different house so I can finish taking care of some business.” Lance gave the crusty old cab driver the address and where he currently sat. George rounded the corner in less than ten minutes.

“Get in and don’t bleed too much. I hate cleaning crime scene evidence out of the backseat.” Lance laughed and grimaced as he pulled himself into the backseat.

“You’re a nasty old man, George.” Lance told him and George smiled.

“I’m not the kid who just gunned down three people in an abandoned road.” George reminded him.

“At least I don’t look like molding bread.” Lance mumbled. George glanced at his pale and spotty skin in the rearview mirror. He laughed his giant laugh as he saw Lance was right. He did resemble moldy bread.

George took every shortcut as fast as possible, eager to get the young assassin out of his cab. “Who are you killing today and why?” George asked as he pulled up in front of the little grey house.

“An acquaintance who knows too much.” Lance said and pulled himself from the car. He felt weak and glanced at just how much blood had pooled in the floorboards of the cab.

“Good luck you little son of a bitch.” George laughed and sped off as soon as Lance shut the door. Lance limped to the door and pulled the gun from where he had stuffed it down the front of his waistband. He used the little bit of strength he had left to kick the door open (he had always been one for cool entrances) and yelled for Keith.

Keith entered a second later but before Lance could pull the trigger his injuries got the best of him. He was vaguely aware of someone dragging him across the floor but lost consciousness as he heard a door slam closed. After that he was completely unaware of the things around him, random thoughts swimming through his head. Pidge, his family, his boss, his family, the men he had just killed, Keith, his family.

 

Lance didn't recognize his surroundings when he woke up. The room was light grey, the furniture around him a mixture of random colors and fabrics, like it had all been bought at different times. The green armchair in the corner of the room held a figure but the sky outside was dark and didn't illuminate the room. He swung his legs off the couch he was laying on and accidentally whacked his heels on a coffee table. He cursed and the figure stirred as if it had been sleeping. 

Suddenly a lamp switched on and Lance felt his eyes burning from the bright light. When he could open his eyes again he saw Keith yawning and stretching in the armchair. He still wore nothing but fleece pants and socks and he shivered as he looked around the room. 

“You didn't die.” He said sounding surprised as he reached over and pulled a blanket from another chair. He wrapped it around his own shoulders and stood yawning again. Lance looked down and saw he had been stitched and bandaged, presumably by Keith. 

“You saved me?” He asked. 

Keith shrugged and said, “If you died i'd have to deal with the police.” He spoke nonchalant like saving Lance’s life was nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Where'd you learn to stitch like this?” Lance said poking a wound. 

“Like I said, I've been in a gang. Someone had to save me when I got in as much trouble as you were.” He shrugged and Lance scratched the back of his head. 

“Why did you save me, again?” He was still confused. He had tried to kill Keith twice, right? So why was Keith helping him?

“Because I'm too damn nice!” Keith called as he walked out of the room. Lance closed his eyes and tried to think. Was he supposed to thank Keith? Should he just leave? What would he do if Keith had already called the police? Maybe that's what he was going to do. Lance stood and followed Keith out of the room. 

“You can leave or stay and eat but all I have is vodka and leftover Chinese food.” Lance had never been so confused. 

“You only have Chinese? What about Thai? Mexican? Italian? Anything other than Chinese?”

“Eat the noodles or don't eat at all. I don't feel like making anything right now and I don't have milk. So it's vodka and Chinese for dinner.”

“Why are you offering me food?” Lance asked as Keith pulled plastic containers from the fridge. Lance watched the muscles in Keith's back as he bent and turned and leaned and stretched. 

“Because you just almost bled to death, you need food to recover from that. I think that's how it works anyway. I'm still living which is a miracle of its own considering the only doctor I ever visited was myself.” Lance actually laughed. 

“I’m supposed to kill you. You remember that part right?” He asked. 

“Yeah, but if I'm not here to eat the Chinese, who will?” He asked and dumped a container onto a plate. 

“I like you. You're even crazier than I am.” Lance commented. Keith nodded like he got that a lot. Keith produced two plates of semi warm Chinese food and two glasses of vodka. The glass cups seemed much too fancy to be holding something like vodka but Lance didn’t question it.

“Hey where are my weapons?” Lance asked as he sat down across from Keith at the kitchen table and began to eat.

“Under the couch in the living room but please don’t kill me.” Keith said it calmly as he began to eat. Lance started to stand but sat back down. He didn’t want to kill Keith.

“I don’t want to kill you.” Lance sounded confused.

“Why not?” Keith asked looking up from his food.

“I don’t know! I’ve never not wanted to kill someone. I mean, I never want to kill people, it makes me feel bad but, this is different. It’s like if someone told me to kill Pidge. I couldn’t do that. It would hurt.” Lance was confused out of his mind. Why didn’t he want to kill Keith? Did he think of Keith as a friend? Impossible, all he had talked to him about was killing him. They had never had any real conversations that could create a real friendship.

“Then don’t.” Keith said and took a big swig of vodka.

“That’s easy for you to say. If I don’t kill you soon I’ll get in huge trouble. Like ‘rest of the gang hating me’ and ‘Boss telling them to kill me instead’ trouble.” Keith nodded and thought on this.

“Tell them I lost my memory.” Keith said.

“What?” Lance had never heard such a terrible idea.

“Yeah, that’s how I got out of the gang I was in. I was pushed down a stairwell by some druggy and spent a couple days in the hospital. Convinced the doctors to help me and they said they’d tell them I had lost my memory. Guys didn’t want a kid with no memory and no idea how to do his job. Maybe it will work again since you hit me with that brick.” Keith reminded him and Lance laughed.

“I’ll try it but if I end up dead I know who to haunt.” Lance warned. Keith held his hands up and continued to chew. “I’m gonna end up dead.” Lance grumbled angrily and took a bite of his food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah I don't know how you guys liked this chapter but feel free to leave a comment telling me what you thought.
> 
> PSA: LANCE ISN'T IN A GANG BECAUSE HE'S PARTIALLY HISPANIC. HE'S IN A GANG BECAUSE HE AND KEITH CAN'T BOTH BE IN A GANG FOR THE PLOT TO UNFOLD CORRECTLY. I CHOSE HIM TO BE IN A GANG BECAUSE YA KNOW, WHY NOT? THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.
> 
> Anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter lmao<3


	5. ~Chapter Five~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long with this update.
> 
> Hope you guys like it!

Lance POV:

“You idiot! Do you think I’m stupid?!”

“No no! I swear it’s true!” Lance insisted. He could feel his heartbeat in his toes, the blood rushing in his ears. The Boss’ stare was like a laser beam and Lance felt himself melting under its intensity.

“If you can’t kill the boy I’ll send someone else to do it. You should learn to be more like your sister. What I would do to have stopped Rosa from leaving.” Lance had heard this before but it still stung.

“No! I’ll kill him. I promise, I’ll kill him. By the time I get back tomorrow Keith Maki will be dead.” Lance promised. The Boss nodded and sent him out, Lance hurrying away. Across the hall and down the steps Pidge and Allura sat waiting.

“I guess I have no choice.” He said with a shrug. Pidge gave him a questioning look and Allura nodded. She too knew what it was like to have to kill someone you didn't want to. Her target had gotten out of town before Allura could get her hands on him though and no one had seen Shiro since.

“I'll do it later tonight. I have until tomorrow.”

“I thought you didn't want to kill Keith.” Pidge said as Lance and Allura followed her down the hall to the kitchen. There was no actual food in the kitchen. Just mice and grungy appliances that didn't work. The fridge had been stolen. A window was broken. It was no place for a child to grow up which infuriated Lance. Pidge insisted she liked it there but he knew she didn't really; she was just trying to make him feel better.

“I don’t. But I do have a plan.” Lance smiled and Pidge sighed, Allura groaning in annoyance.

“This can’t be good.” Allura said and pushed the back door open.

* * *

 Keith's POV:

“We need to leave right now!” Lance burst in the door. Keith sat on the couch in his underwear with a bowl of cheese puffs sitting next to him. They spilled over as he jumped up and whipped around to look at Lance. Lance blushed at the sight of Keith’s black alien boxers and Keith quickly wrapped a blanket around his waist.

“What are you yelling about?” Keith asked and turned to hide the red tint on his cheeks.

“They didn’t buy it. We need to leave. Allura and Pidge are in the car if you feel like living you need to come with me.” Lance told him. Keith sighed and Lance followed as he ran upstairs. Keith pulled on a pair of pants and a shirt, grabbing his coat as he left the room.

Once Lance had hurried him outside Keith crawled in the backseat of a beat up old red camaro. Lance jumped in the passenger seat and mumbled, “Drive.”

Pidge sat next to Keith in the back and seemed to give him a disapproving look. In the front seat was a pretty lady with white hair and tanned skin. She seemed older than Lance and definitely more mature. She drove down the street and followed Lance’s directions.

“So uh, where are we going?” Keith asked as he straightened out in his seat.

“Lance has to talk to someone. Because he can’t kill you and that’s a problem.” Allura told him. Keith nodded slowly. As Allura drove Lance explained how he had been yelled at and how he had promised to kill Keith. He told him how he had formed a plan with Pidge and Allura but someone had overheard and snitched and The Boss knew about the plan so they had to ditch it and just leave.

“So we stole this car and headed to your house. From where we are now it should only take about seven more hours to get there.” Lance finished.

“And where exactly is “there”?” Keith asked. Pidge sat next to him banging on a small electronic device.

“He won’t even tell us that, he just gave us an address.” Pidge said then hit the device again. “Lance switch seats with me.” she said.

“What? No I like the front seat!” Lance protested.  
“If I can tap into the antenna frequencies I might be able to get this thing to work. Switch with me.” After several more minutes a pouty Lance was sitting in the back next to Keith. Pidge looked smug as she fiddled with the tiny device. “I didn’t need the antenna,” Pidge announced a moment later, “I just like riding shotgun.”

Lance looked scandalized as Keith and Pidge laughed. Allura rolled her eyes but Keith could see her smiling. For almost and hour Lance and Pidge bickered like siblings and Keith couldn’t help but think Allura looked like a mother. When the arguing got too heated she’d cut in and calm them down. Then they would argue about something else. Keith had a feeling they did this a lot.

Four hours into the drive Keith fell asleep. He was sure he had dreamed of something but he couldn’t remember what. He woke up with his head on something soft, a weight on his shoulder. Allura and Pidge smirked as he leaned up and rubbed his eyes. He looked over and saw both the weight on his shoulder and the soft thing he had used as a pillow was Lance’s head. His cheek rested on Keith’s shoulder, his fluffy brown hair acting as a means of comfort when Keith had laid there.

Keith pushed Lance and snorted when the boy fell the other way, smacking his head on the window and jumping awake. “Douche.” Lance grumbled and pushed Keith back. He did his best to stay awake after that, Allura telling them there was only two hours left in the drive but Keith had gotten so little sleep the night before he dozed off in his seat, his temple pressed to the cold glass window. It felt as freezing as the snow that swirled around the car but it didn’t bother Keith.

When he was shook awake it was light out. “Thirty more minutes.” Allura told him.” When Keith had fully woken he looked around.

Lance sat bouncing in his seat, looking like he was either going to burst into song or vomit. Allura was still driving but looked tireder now. Pidge was in the front seat, Lance’s jacket balled up and stuffed between her head and the window like a makeshift pillow.

“How come Pidge gets to sleep?!” Keith asked angrily.

“Because Pidge is cute and funny and I like her.” Allura said. Keith grumbled and crossed his arms grumpily.

Allura pulled into a gas station and got out to fill the tank, Lance and Keith following to stretch their legs. They had stood there for two minutes when four men showed up. They didn’t speak just proceeded to stare down the three of them then try and kill all of them. Pidge slept through it all as Allura, Keith, and Lance fought off the attackers. Keith, being cautious as ever, always kept a spare knife in the pocket of his coat.

When the men had been taken care of the three outside looked slightly askew, their hair messy, clothes torn, and some minor injuries but nothing major. What was major was the looks on the gas station employees faces as the attackers ran off. Allura ordered Keith and Lance back in the car to which they willingly obliged.

“I went to highschool with that cashier back there.” Lance commented as they drove away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay Allura is here!
> 
> Shit goes down in the next chapter.
> 
> Probably I haven't written it yet. Lmao.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys are liking the story so far!<3


	6. ~Chapter Six~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If I got any translations wrong please please please tell me!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay a month later I finally remembered to post this!

Keith’s POV

Keith had no idea why he had gotten in the car, no idea why he trusted any of them, and no idea why he had instantly agreed. He felt rather dumb. It was very possible they were taking him somewhere to kill him, somewhere he would never be found. He had no idea why he was slightly okay with that. No more taxes, right?

Lance’s POV

Lance felt like vomiting. Why had he thought this would be a good idea? He had no idea. But as they approached their destination he began to recognize everything and everyone. It was scary how little things changed when you left them behind. 

The house they stopped in front of was a big blue country home with a long driveway, fields extending out behind it for acres. Lance could see chalk drawings on the driveway, bikes thrown in the yard, cars parked halfway in the garage. The windows were pulled open, curtains pushed back. It was exactly as he had left.

“Where are we?” Keith asked from beside him. Lance swallowed before answering. 

“My old house.” 

The car was silent for a moment and then Pidge mumbled, “Oh Lance.”

“No, Pidge. It’s fine. I just need to speak to-- to my sister.” he said. After several more minutes Lance turned to Keith, “How do I look? Like I just got in a fight?” he asked.

Keith turned and looked him up and down. “Kinda, yeah.” Keith said and reached over to wipe some dirt or blood from Lance’s cheek. Suddenly they were both blushing and Keith turned away. Lance pushed his door open and climbed out, trying to not let the others see he was as red as Keith’s shirt. He took a deep breath as the others climbed out behind him.

“Keith?” he asked.

“Yeah Lance?”

“We’re friends right?” it sounded like a very dumb question.

“Other than the whole trying to kill me a couple times, yeah we’re friends.” Keith answered. Lance was luckily very good at hiding his surprise.

“Good.” he said. Then his face seemed to clear of all emotions and he started towards the front door, not bothering to use the sidewalk as he crossed the green grass. He could feel his legs shaking and Lance almost lost his nerve when he felt Keith’s hand brush his. Keith squeezed his hand lightly before Lance pulled away quickly, reaching up to knock on the door.

Silence for one minute, two minutes, and then the door swung open and a happy looking Hispanic woman opened the door. As soon as she saw Lance she slammed it closed again. Lance knocked again and this time she called, “Go away!”

“Come on mamá, abré la puerta!” He called. 

“No desaparecerte!” She yelled. 

“I just need to talk to Rosa, please open the door.” She was silent. “Mom please!” He begged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait!
> 
> I know last chapter I said shit would go down but nothing really did??
> 
> Next chapter. 
> 
> Thanks for reading<3


	7. Good News Lmfao

Hi guess what I'm going to be completely rewriting this story soon because I just went back and reread it and it's a semi-good plot but the writing is ??? absolute shit ??? Like Christ what was 2016 me doing?? Pretty sure I was like 13 or 14 though soooooooo

Anyway, yea it's making a comeback, bigger and better than ever before!

No promises as to when though lmao just keep your eyes peeled. 

I love you all so so much and thank you for reading my shitty stories it means the world to me!<3

<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr, Princesshinataa
> 
> Thanks for reading<3


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